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Porn—1977 to 1991: Numerous publications printed advertisements for pornographic pictures and movies, and people began to have pornography shipped to their homes (or, more likely, a P.O. box rented with a fake name). An even bigger change occurred when VCRs (video cassette recorders) hit the market. Suddenly, people could purchase or rent pornographic videos and view them in the privacy of their own homes. Almost simultaneously, cable television arrived, presenting soft-core porn late at night.
Porn—1991 to 2004: In this time period, home internet became a thing, and, with that, our ability to affordably and anonymously access pornography changed forever. Photos and videos catering to every imaginable sexual taste and fetish were readily available for anonymous viewing. This porn proliferation was so ubiquitous that it crossed over into pop culture. For example, in 2003, the Broadway smash-hit Avenue Q won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show’s most memorable song was a conversation between Kate (a schoolteacher) and Trekkie (a fuchsia-haired monster) entitled "The Internet is for Porn." So even Broadway realized the
internet’s “killer app” wasn’t email, it was porn.
Porn—2004 to the present: Somewhere around 2004, the delivery model for online pornography morphed from pay-per-view porn sites to user-generated tube sites where the revenue came not from subscribers but from advertisers. At the same time, webcam technology improved enough that people could become porn stars themselves, stripping and masturbating for an online audience. Plus, faster internet speeds enabled the streaming of video pornography. Until this time, still imagery had ruled the roost, but suddenly video was king. More importantly, porn became almost universally accessible—affordably and anonymously accessed by any interested person.
